November 9, 2005

Interesting new policy is in works in the Westchester County (NY). It actually makes sense as long as they don’t extend it to include all WiFi access points instead of just ones run by comercial businesses. (Check out gWiFi.net for a list of free and open access points.).

Westchester County (NY) executive Andy Spano is sponsoring legislation that would require commercial businesses that offer wireless hot spots to have firewalls and other security measures in place if they also collect sensitive customer information. The legislation would require companies to separate the confidential data they hold from the networks
that offer wireless access. One analyst has observed that whether a network is wireless or wired, organizations should keep sensitive data secure. The proposed legislation is believed to be the first of its kind in the United States.